As you know I was living on a building site last year and in December the front garden was landscaped. The landscapers put in dog roses, lavender, rosemary and ground cover. We have had the landscapers in once since the initial planting to weed and fertilize but the bill was quite lavish to say the least. In the mean time the weeds and the garden have blended into one. I must say the weeds are really pretty, soft with tiny flowers but they are growing in and around the new plants. I am no gardener at all but yesterday decided that I would rather pull out weeds than pay the landscapers another lavish bill. Well, what I can tell you is that the work was satisfying but extremely tiring. I am so stiff today I can hardly move. Where am I going with this?

I realised during the morning’s weeding that our businesses are a lot like gardens (I kid you not)! Gardens need to be planned quite well with plants that require the same amounts of water, sunlight and then other plants that are water-wise and some plants that grow in shade etc. We can’t plant plants where they won’t grow – that would be stupid and a waste of money (and water). By the same token the garden needs to have a constant hand on it i.e. if I had been weeding consistently I wouldn’t have a problem today with moving around as I did a bit of overkill weeding yesterday! We need to spend effort on our gardens.

How do we plan our businesses?

So much has been written about business and marketing plans and whether they are beneficial or not. Personally I can’t get by without my marketing plan but my business plan grows as my business grows. It works for me but you need to find a way of planning your business growth that works for you. Does your business have a plan?

How do we de-weed our business you may ask?

Is your pc clean and have you done a recent scan?

Are your computer files in order or are they scattered all over your desktop and each time you look for something possibly have to do a search?

Is the client work you have finished with for last year archived?

What do your USB sticks look like? Are they cluttered and full of “stuff”?

Are your paper files in order and up to date or is your filing basket sky-high?

Let’s treat our business with the same respect that we give our gardens!
Happy gardening!